Guest Review: Archangel’s Storm by Nalini Singh

Reviewer: Tracy
Archangel's Storm by Nalini Singh
Series: Guild Hunter #5
Also in this series: Archangel's Kiss, Archangel's Consort, Archangel's Blade, Archangel's Consort, Archangel's Storm (Guild Hunter #5), Archangel's Legion, Archangel's Legion (Guild Hunter #6), Archangel's Shadows, Archangel's Shadows, Archangel's Enigma (Guild Hunter, #8), Angels' Blood (Guild Hunter #1), Archangel's Heart, Archangel's Heart, Archangel's Heart (Guild Hunter, #9), Archangel's Kiss, Angels' Blood, Archangel's Viper (Guild Hunter, #10), Archangel's Viper, Archangel's Prophecy, Archangel's Consort (Guild Hunter, #3), Archangel's Prophecy, Archangel's War, Archangel's War , Archangel's Kiss, Archangel's Sun, Archangel's Light, Archangel's Resurrection
Publisher: Berkley
Publication Date: September 4, 2012
Format: eARC
Source: Publisher
Point-of-View: Alternating Third
Genres: Urban Fantasy
Pages: 337
Add It: Goodreads
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Series Rating:

Enter New York Times bestselling author Nalini Singh’s darkly beautiful world of archangels and immortal power, as a pact is sealed between two souls bound by blood, stirred by desire, and driven by vengeance…

With wings of midnight and an affinity for shadows, Jason courts darkness. But now, with the Archangel Neha’s consort lying murdered in the jewel-studded palace that was his prison and her rage threatening cataclysmic devastation, Jason steps into the light, knowing he must unearth the murderer before it is too late.

Earning Neha’s trust comes at a price—Jason must tie himself to her bloodline through the Princess Mahiya, a woman with secrets so dangerous, she trusts no one. Least of all an enemy spymaster.

With only their relentless hunt for a violent, intelligent killer to unite them, Jason and Mahiya embark on a quest that leads to a centuries-old nightmare… and to the dark storm of an unexpected passion that threatens to drench them both in blood.

Archangel Neha’s consort, Eris, has been murdered. Jason, Raphael’s spymaster, steps in to investigate. Originally Neha wants Jason to give her a blood vow but he is loyal to Raphael so Neha insists that Jason give his blood vow to her niece, Mahiya. Jason agrees and heads to Neha’s territory to catch a murderer.

Mahiya is quiet and unassuming and Jason doesn’t even really think about her as he goes about looking for clues but as each hour passes he realizes that there’s much more to Mahiya than meets the eye. He is intrigued, and for him that’s huge.

Mahiya might be Neha’s niece but her father was Neha’s consort. Huh? Well, Mahiya’s mother, Nivriti (Neha’s sister) cuckholded Neha with Eris and Mahiya was the result. It is said that Neha kept Mahiya in her court because she is blood (after she killed her own sister) but the truth of the matter is that Mahiya is used as a whipping boy. She is treated badly and Neha hates her. Mahiya is biding her time until she can find a way to escape the prison she’s lived in most of her life. Jason provides a possible out and she’s not afraid to use him if she needs to. Neither one of them figured on feeling strongly for the other and that surprises both of them.

Book five in the Guild Hunter series is a much slower, or should I say, calm book than the others. Sure there is stuff happening constantly and some of it’s pretty gruesome, but while a very good book it wasn’t an exciting page turner.

The relationship that Mahiya and Jason begin is very sensual. They understand each other and are a bit fascinated with the other which is understandable since they’ve each had challenging lives (to say the least) and have been strong enough to live through it.

I think what I liked most about this book was the fact that Singh didn’t try to make Jason out to be someone he’s not just because he fell in love. He had locked down his emotions to the point where he was a blank slate on the outside. While he felt deeply for Mahiya he never became an overly verbose lover who starts to spew poetry (although none of Singh’s heroes have ever done that, I don’t think).

Mahiya, on the other hand, had defied the circumstances of her life by being a happy person. Neha would have loved nothing more than to see Mahiya miserable. While she ached to be loved, something that she had never had, she overcame adversity by being a joyful and happy soul. I loved seeing the differences in Jason and Mahiya and they worked so well together.

In the end it was a great book and a wonderful addition to the series. I can only hope we’ll get Illium’s story sometime soon. 🙂

Rating: 4 out of 5.

Guild Hunter Series

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